Tessa McCallistar
by Sophia Banks
Summary: Becky and Tobey McCallistar have two children, Tessa and Steven. They are happy and life is peaceful, with Becky taking up her position as WordGirl only rarely now. But something's wrong with Steven…All of a sudden Tessa finds herself fighting to save the whole town from her own brother!
1. Prologue

Prologue-

Becky Botsford had married Tobey, they had lived together for two years before they had two children-  
>Tessa Bianca McCallistar,<br>and Steven Theodore McCallistar.

Tessa McCallistar started getting her powers when she was just a small child. Her parents had first discovered her abilities when they had found her floating above her twin brother in order to keep her toy away from him.  
>Becky McCallistar was greatly pleased, Tobey was too.<br>Steven was not.

Steven McCallistar was beginning to notice just how ordinary he was compared to Tessa, he couldn't fly, he didn't have supernatural powers and actually he was a bit wimpy compared to all of the children his age.  
>Tessa was special, he was not.<p>

When Tessa turned ten Becky decided it was time for her to learn about her past, that she was WordGirl and as such had fought many great villains. That was when Steven learned that he wasn't completely human.  
>He wasn't supposed to be listening at the door! But he couldn't help it, he was naturally curious. Especially when his sister had been guided by their parents into a room which was quickly locked!<p>

He listened as the story went on and on, his mother's history….

All of those villains, all of those powers were put into Tessa's hands on not his! All of that raw untamed beautiful power…Power was what he wanted. Steven discovered this quickly.  
>He just didn't know how to get it.<p>

**I always start my stories with Prologues it seems X)  
>New chapter should come pretty quickly, I'm working on it now!<strong>

**Yes, Steven is named after the Doc. I had to!  
>This story is about Tessa btw.<strong>

**Please review! 8D**


	2. Chapter 1- Life

Chapter 1- Life

"Mom!" Tessa jumped excitedly at her mother's feet, "Mom, tell me again about the first time you met dad!" she said tugging at her skirt.

"Tessa hush," Becky said kindly, "You've heard it already."

"I know," Tessa kicked the ground, "But it's my favorite story, especially the end with Captain Huggy Face dressed up as you!" she giggled.

Becky giggled herself, "Yes, that's my favorite part too."

Tessa was turning on eleven years old, she loved the idea of a big birthday party. And she couldn't wait to show off her powers to all her friends!

Her mother's words spoken in the confines of her room circled through her mind though

"Being a hero means no one can know who you really are, or it will make life so much harder…"

But she wouldn't become a hero now would she!

"Tessa why don't you go play with Steven ok" Becky offered, "he's been looking down in the dumps lately."

Tessa nodded, "Righto," she said cheerfully.

The truth was that Tessa always seemed to be cheerful; she was a bright child, smart like both her parents.

She was short and slim with long dark brown hair; it seemed that Tessa had gotten all of her looks from her mother except for her bright blue eyes which were that of her father..  
>Steven looked very much like him, blonde hair and glasses with somewhat pale skin and a square jaw.. but he had brown eyes like their mother.<p>

"Steve!" Tessa jumped into the room to find Steven pouring over a book, his nose practically touching the page.

He didn't look up, "What do you want Tessa?" he asked in his aristocratic tone of voice. Tessa frowned down at him, usually he was up for talking to her even when he was reading.

"Mom said I should play with you, not so sure I want to now," she said jokingly.

"Then go away."

She looked down at him in surprise, "Steve-"

"Really Tessa just go away I have no patience for you today!" he turned to her his face red with anger.

Tessa blinked back a few tears; no one had ever talked to her like that! To hide her sudden emotion she stuck her tongue out at him before leaving the room.

What had that been about? She had to admit that Steven wasn't the most social or joy filled person yet he always had time and patience to talk to her...

She decided to shrug it off finally, why harp on someone's bad mood? They never last forever, and if he had any troubles he would just go to their mom or dad.

He would be fine.

(Steven)

In fact he would not be fine, Steven was at that moment pouring through every book his father had ever written so that he could remember his robot designs!

Steven was smart, he could build something good. Something better, something that could get him power!

"I'm home!" Tobey entered the house, a small robot walked at his feet carrying groceries on its back. "Hello father," said Steven kindly, closing the book and then holding it behind his back, "Hello Bastian," he added to the little robot.

It beeped a few times in return (Morse code) before it bustled off into the kitchen to put away the groceries.

Tobey sat himself down on their couch grabbing a newspaper and opening it, "WordGirl deals with The Veggie Kid…Didn't know that The Butcher had a son," he mumbled to himself.

While his father was distracted Steven stood up, holding the book against his back as hard as he could he began to creep across the room.

"Steven, put my book back now you were told not to touch it!" the newspaper folded over so that Tobey's face was visible, he was scowling.

Steven grumbled, but passed over the book, "I just wanted to learn how to make robots," he whimpered. Tobey gave him an appraising look before a smile crept across his features, "Alright, I think everyone deserves a chance to create!"

And so Tobey began teaching Steven the basics of robot "creating", Steven listened in awe as he explained the mechanics but zoned out when he mentioned the heart.

"Dad, have you ever created a robot that could... Oh, I dunno…Take away someone's powers?" he gave an innocent smile.

"It had crossed my mind once or twice," mumbled Tobey who was too lost in thought to see the rather unnatural look in his son's eyes, "But I had dismissed the idea, it's too cruel and archaic," he frowned.

Steven nodded, "Did you make plans?"

"A few but I don't know where I had put them," Steven's father shrugged his narrow shoulders, "Now, let's talk about putting in big red buttons-"

(Tessa)

"Mom, what do ya think is wrong with Steven?" Tessa asked, sticking her finger into a bowl filled with cake batter.

"Tessa!" Becky cried exasperatedly, but softened quickly, "I doubt anything is wrong with him," she said grabbing her daughters wrist and lifting her hand away from the bowl, "I suppose he's beginning to feel a bit useless because he doesn't have powers."

"He's jealous?"

"No," Becky replied sharply, "no, not jealous," she looked blankly at the wall lost in thought.

Tessa sighed, sticking her fingers into her mouth and licking off the chocolaty substance, why was everyone acting so strange?

"Just be nice to him" Becky finished finally, biting her bottom lip.

Tessa lifted off the ground and turned upside down, her fingers still in her mouth, "M'ok," she said. Becky smiled warmly, "Good girl."

"Hey McCallistar where's Steve?" shouted a boy by the name of Patrick Loraine, he was the son of Eileen (The Birthday Girl) and it was pretty easy to see the resemblance.

Incredibly pale skin, bright red hair, two big eyes that screamed innocence, he looked out of breath, his pudgy cheeks bright red.

"He's with dad," Tessa replied landing quickly, she didn't think that he had seen her flying but that was a close one!

"K," Patrick sauntered past the opened glass doors and sat himself down at the table without asking if he could even come in.

"You know where Rose is today?" Tessa asked, grabbing two cups out of the cupboard to put chocolate milk in.

"Ming?" Patrick asked putting his head on his thick fingers, "Probably prancing around looking at flowers," he wrinkled his small nose.

Tessa put on a fake scowl, "Don't knock it till you've tried it!" she said, before breaking out in a giggle. Patrick joined her, his smile showed off a pair of dimples which added to the boy's innocence.

"That or she's watching Daisy."

Daisy was Rose's younger sister; the two were the children of Violet and Todd (Scoops) Ming. Rose was Tessa's best friend despite her sometimes dottiness.

The young girl poured some milk into the cups then placed one in front of Patrick he proceeded to slurp the liquid.  
>"If you see her can you ask her if she wants to go the library with me sometime?" Tessa asked him before taking a sip of her own milk.<br>"Yeah sure," Patrick shrugged, wiping away his chocolate milk mustache, "I'd better go home," he sighed, "Mom said I could stay if Steven was available to play but sounds like he's busy."  
>"Yeah, sorry," Tessa shrugged.<p>

The young boy finished his chocolate milk before throwing the cup into Tessa's hand, and then he walked out of the house waving goodbye.  
>Tessa waved back with the empty cup before letting out a contented sigh.<br>Becky looked questioningly at her daughter, "What was that for?" she asked, wondering about the sigh. The young girl smiled at her mother,  
>"Nothing, I just feel kind of lucky."<p>

**This chapter is kind of putting together their normal home life along with the sense that Steven is going to do something awful. I also wanted to explain some of the new characters ;)  
>(At least I hope that is what it comes across as)<strong>

**I didn't want to go to the story too quickly, though it'll most likely happen in the next chapter. **

**Please review! 8D**

**P.S. sorry about the formatting, this is what happens when you use two computers to type one chapter.**


	3. Chapter 2- Life goes wrong

Chapter 3- Life goes wrong

(Two weeks later)

Throughout the next couple of days Tessa began to realize that perhaps Steven's mood wasn't going to go away. In fact, the more days that past he seemed to get worse! He also seemed to regard their mother with some sort of contempt.  
>Tessa tried to ignore the craziness that seemed to go over her brother, she kept repeating to herself that it would go away…But then he started disappearing for hours at a time!<p>

"He has some project he's working on; I just wish I knew what it was!" Tessa said to her best friend Rose as they walked home, stacks of books in their arms.  
>Rose nodded, "You could always fallow him," she offered in her usual misty voice. Rose was rather tall with jet black hair; her face was a beautiful mix of her mother's and father's.<br>Tessa shrugged off the idea, "No, that doesn't seem right…" she mumbled. Rose looked at the sky, suddenly lost in thought.

Tessa went silent; she knew that there was no point in talking to Rose when she was like this. She didn't mind, she loved spending time with Rose when she wasn't lost in thought, so it was kind of worth it.

Tessa was taken out of her own thoughts at the sound of screams, a loud bang echoed across the entire town!  
>People ran past her screaming, some grabbing at her arm to get her to move with them. But with her super strength they couldn't do it and abandoned her. Tessa dropped her books at the next sight to catch her eye, it was a robot.<br>And not some tiny helpful little robot like Bastian! This giant metal beast was about the size of the tallest building in town, with four sets of thick legs that crushed concrete with each step of its giant feet. It had a huge dome like head, and its body had two enormous hooks coming from the location of where its collar bones would have been.

"I am looking for WordGirl!" called an all too familiar voice.  
>Rose looked at Tessa with a horrified expression, "Steven?" she mouthed. Tessa couldn't believe it, it had to be someone else! How could Steven had created something that amazing and huge?!<br>The screams persisted, people kept running, WordGirl wasn't there yet.

"MOM!" he shouted.  
>Tessa stepped back as the shout echoed across the entire town, her hand flinging towards the warm grasp of her best friend.<br>She felt relief flood through her at the sight of her mother finally arriving, "Steven!" she said sharply, Tessa was thankful to be able to hear the conversation that fallowed.

"Ah, hello mother," Steven said, Tessa could practically hear the smirk in his voice.  
>"Steven, what's going on? Is something wrong?" Becky asked, perhaps hoping that Steven hadn't lost his mind like Tessa imagined that he had.<br>"Oh, nothing's wrong," Steven sighed.

"Tessa, what's going on?" Patrick shouted (though he really didn't need to) as he ran up to the two friends. Miss McCallistar didn't respond, she only swallowed.  
>The young boy turned around to face the robot, "The voice in there sounds like Steven…Why did he call WordGirl his mom?"<br>Tessa couldn't react, she was too in shock. Steven was only eleven years old! (they were twins) How could he have done something like this?  
>Perhaps she was misunderstanding the situation but it seemed like he was trying to be a villain!<p>

"Steven, get down from there and we can talk!" WordGirl implored.  
>"Talk? So now you want to talk to me? I thought the only way I could learn anything was by listening through a doorway!" Steven shouted, "About your past, about just how extraordinary Tessa is and how ordinary I am!"<br>Becky looked taken aback, "Stevie-"  
>"No mom it's time to listen," Steven hissed, "It didn't take me long to realize that the only way to get power is to eliminate people that are stronger then you," he seemed resigned to something and Tessa felt her heart squeeze.<br>How could he have created so much hate in such a short time?

"I don't want to kill you mom," now he sounded tearful, his breathing was quick like he was hyperventilating, "But I can eliminate your power!"  
>There was a pause then, the air around Tessa seemed to buzz. Then there was a small seemingly insignificant beep and then the claws that Tessa had noticed earlier shot out.<br>One missed WordGirl completely, but the other reached its mark and it wrapped its metal jaws around her body.

The only thing Tessa could tell was that her mother was in great agony, she was screaming, and her body had gone rather rigid.  
>Steven had gone silent as this happened, except for what appeared to be him sniffling. Was he crying? Tessa didn't care, the only thing she cared about was rescuing her mother!<p>

"Mom!" she shouted, flying into the air and towards the giant robot.  
>"Tessa!" Cried both Patrick and Rose, they ran after her. Being true friends they didn't stop to harp on her sudden ability to fly, instead they wanted to go help her!<br>Tessa flew faster as the claw released her mother and she dropped to the pavement. The young girl landed by her mother's side, "Mom, mom can you hear me?" she yelped.

"Good, good this is good," Steven said, "Alright Tessa, guess who's next!"  
>The claws which had been pulled back into their holders shot out again straight towards the young girl, Tessa had no way of escaping in time!<br>That is of course, she wouldn't have been able escape had it not been for a stranger which grabbed her and pulled her out of the way before the claws could grab her!

Tessa's eyes were closed, she couldn't breathe. She could tell that whoever had her was running, she was tucked next to a thin body, "Come on you two!" came a high voice from the person holding her.  
>"What's going on?" cried Rose, who was running behind.<br>"Don't ask me!" came Patrick's reply.

Moments later Tessa was set down, and he willed herself to open her eyes.  
>The man who had saved her was very thin with pale skin (everyone has pale skin it seemed) and a pair of handsome brown eyes. His hair was white, cut short, and combed back.<br>He looked tired, which perhaps made him look older then he actually was. "Who are you? What's going on?" Tessa asked rather tearfully.  
>She couldn't quite grasp how sudden this had all happened, one moment she was enjoying a nice day with her best friend.<p>

The next, her mother was on the ground perhaps dead, and Steven trashing the entire town in a giant killer robot!  
>"Hush, it's ok. My name is Doctor Steven Boxlietner and you're going to fix this all!"<p>

**This is kind of dark 0-0  
>Yay the Doc! He's by far my favorite character in WordGirl so I had to bring him in.<strong>

**Please review!**


	4. Chapter 3- Doctor who?

Chapter 3- Doctor who?

Tessa was lead into a rather dilapidated room with both her friends, the man who had called himself Doctor Steven Boxlietner (how could it be him?) offered them each a slab of cheese, the all refused.  
>He then sat himself down on a somewhat cushy armchair, tenting his gloved fingers, "Sit down," he said kindly.<p>

Tessa shakily sat herself down on a couch which was opposite of him, her hands rubbing against her arms as though she was cold.  
>Patrick sat next to her, glaring across at the man as though he was the one that had caused all of this distress.<br>Rose sat on the other side and tried to look anywhere but her friends, her gaze only going to the man every so often but it would dart away from him almost as fast as it had come.

"W-what's going o-on?" Tessa finally spoke, her voice shaking along with her body, "What is wrong with my brother? What did he do to mom? Who are you really? What did you mean that-that I could fix everything!?" her voice cracked as tears came to her eyes. All she could wrap her mind around was that she was sitting! The rest seemed like a confusing fog to her.

Was her mother dead?

The man called Steven gave her a look of distinct sympathy, "Relax, you're safe now," he said sincerely, "I am as I said, Doctor Steven Boxlietner. I suppose you'd know me better as Doctor Two Brains," she shrugged his narrow shoulders at her.

Tessa frowned at him, wiping her tears away with the corner of her sleeve, "But-but mom said that you…"  
>He put a hand up to silence her, "I used to be Doctor Two Brains," he said firmly, "But now I'm just Steven, or whatever of him is left," he looked wistfully at the ground, "I'm afraid I'm not-I'm not all there anymore after my second brain died," he bit his bottom lip showing sharp teeth.<p>

"What happened?" Patrick asked, crossing his arms over his chest.  
>Two Brains ran the hand he had used to silence Tessa with to smooth back some rogue white hairs that had escaped.<br>"About five years ago my brain began to die, I'm not sure why, perhaps it was dying of old age perhaps it was never going to be permanent. Whatever reason, it began to die away, and I was able to collect some of my old self. After that I was able to remove the brain surgically, it was painful, but I managed."

Tessa looked befuddled, "Why would you remove it yourself and not go to a hospital?" she asked, her voice still cracking but with more confidence than before.  
>"It's kind of hard to say this-but I was a little bit afraid of myself. What if the brain worked again? What would I do? Besides, then your mother would…That's beside the point!" he sat up straight as a rake (he looked sort of like one he was so thin) "The point is, I'm back sort of," he smiled in a rather fake manner.<p>

Tessa didn't much care, as cheerful as she usually was she still felt lost and she wanted her other questions answered!  
>Rose spoke up this time, "If you're back to normal then what's the problem?" she asked mistily. Doctor Boxlietner shook his head, "I think we have more important things to talk about," he said sharply.<p>

"To answer your first question, what's going on is that your brother seems to have been over taken by some sort of evil. It was probably spurred from way too much jealousy, from what he said earlier that's what I could gather," he tapped his knee.  
>"I wish that I could have gotten your mother but I had to save you first," he looked at the ground again, "Her powers have been drained."<br>"What?!" Tessa gaped, "Do you mean that-?"

"Yes I do, if Steven's plan worked then she can no longer fly or have super strength or any other power besides perhaps her wonderful vocabulary."  
>Rose hugged Tessa, mumbling a few words of sorry into her ear. Tessa grabbed at Patrick's hand and squeezed it, whether he wanted to give comfort or not he was giving it!<br>The boy didn't pull away, but gave her a sour face to indicate how annoyed he was by her.

"The good news here is that I got you out of the way before he could take away your powers!" Steven smiled at her, though it was kind of pathetic.  
>Tessa stood up, using her strength to remove Rose from her, "What? No! No, I'm no hero!" she shouted at him.<br>"Whether you are one or not you're going to have to be soon!" Two Brains stood up as well, "Your brother is currently destroying the entire town! (city?) The only one that can stop him is you!" he stepped over to her and put his hands on her shoulders, he had a genuinely warm expression on his face and his touch was soft and comforting.

Tessa looked up at him with watery eyes, could she do this?  
>"If you need help, I'll train you. It's what I did with your mother it's what I can do with you."<br>Tessa almost felt like hugging him for how genuine he sounded, but something at the back of her mind screamed at her-

_"A hero, are you crazy?! Since when have you been Hero material? You're just a little girl with a few tricks, you're not your mother! Look what Steven did with his gifts, what if that becomes you if you try too hard for power?"_

She pulled away, "I can't!"  
>"No Tessa please!" Steven reached out his hand to bring her back but it was too late, Tessa zoomed out of the small dilapidated building as fast as she could.<br>"Tessa!" Rose shouted behind her, "Tessa come back!" she stood up and ran after her best friend. Patrick was more reluctant to help, but then, something screamed at him to-

_"Look at how selfish and greed filled he is, not willing to go help his friend because he's such a lazy jerk!"_

And he followed, before he ran though he spoke to the Doc who was looking utterly defeated, "We'll bring her back!"

**What do ya think?  
>I quite like this, does it makes sense do you think for Tessa to have this problem? I never quite addressed it in any of the other chapters so sorry if it's so sudden!<br>Adding some character to Patrick, need some ideas for Rose if you've got any. I want these characters to be as real as I can make'm ;)**

**Please review!**


	5. Chapter 4- Feeling invisible

Chapter 4- Feeling invisible

Tessa walked without purpose across darkened streets, the sun setting slowly which cast a faint glow across her more pronounced features. The young girl reached out and touched a brick building with the tips of her fingers, her legs crossing over each other. All of this made her look incredibly childlike, but she felt as though it fit.  
>She was a child, a young eleven year old girl-not a hero.<p>

She stopped walking and bristled at the sound of a trashcan being tipped over, her fingers curled inwards so her fingernails scratched the bricks which forced dirt underneath them.  
>She didn't dare turn around at the sound of footsteps which echoed loudly across the cold concrete, if worst came to worst she would fly away!<br>"Just fly, just fly," Tessa's eyes were closed tightly as she mouthed those words over and over again. She could hear and almost feel warm breath as someone tall panted behind her.

She couldn't fly, she was frozen in terror, especially when a cold hand touched her shoulder.  
>"Hush."<br>The voice was male and unfamiliar, she could see that his hands were gloved, "Do not worry, you're safe with me."  
>His voice was thick and syrupy, yet it had a distinct squeaky tone as though it was an afterthought to him. "Let go of me," Tessa squeaked at him.<br>The man didn't move, his pointer finger tapping on her shoulder whilst the rest of his fingers gripped her tightly.  
>"Hey!"<p>

Tessa felt relief flood through her at the shout of someone she recognized-Rose!  
>She resisted the urge to cry for help, afraid that the man would hurt her if she did anything sudden. "Let her go!" Rose warned, her misty tone suddenly gone ice cold.<br>"Yeah!"  
>Patrick. Tessa felt suddenly safer then she had ever been, her friends would save her!<p>

"Stay back!" the man snarled, "It's for her own good!"  
>How could it be for her own good? He was probably going to stab her to death! Tessa forced herself to exhale after she realized that she had been holding it in.<br>"Girl, you must relax, this won't hurt you-"  
>Tessa took that moment to kick the man hard in the shins with her heel, he let out a surprised shout and Tessa noticed as he crumpled to the ground.<br>Super Strength, perhaps a bit overkill.

"Tessa, here!" Rose shouted to her, the young girl nodded in consent and darted away from the fallen man to her friend's side.  
>"No Tessa!"<br>She stopped, both Patrick and Rose grabbing at her hands to take her away from there. But something in his voice had her stiff as a board.  
>"What?" she turned around, accidentally forcing her friends to whip around with her. She gave Rose an apologetic look before she turned it back to the man.<p>

He was of average height, and very handsome. His skin was dark but not so dark that he could go unseen in pitch darkness.  
>He had dark brown hair that was combed perfectly and it seemed to make the fact that he had overlarge glasses almost unnoticeable. His clothes were perhaps a bit odd, a waistcoat and a large purple trench coat that hung over his shoulders but his arms were not in the sleeves. He of course had two black gloves, though Tessa noticed them being a bit rattier then she had previously realized.<p>

"Who are you? I want a name," Tessa ordered, her voice wavering slightly.  
>The man sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Call me Johann (pronounced Yo-han) and most would know me as the son of William Smallwood, or even better known as the son of InvisiBill."<p>

InvisiBill, Tessa's mother had mentioned him. Though the sad part of the story had told her of his death three years ago, she had not mentioned that he had a son.  
>The man or rather Johann was toying with his coat, pulling it farther over his shoulders in a gesture that seemed to portray warmth and closeness.<br>Tessa grabbed hold of Rose's hand, seeking comfort from her best friend. She was unsure of Patrick, he seemed to have given up trying to take her hand. That thought made her heart lurch suddenly; she swallowed the golf ball that seemed to have formed in her throat.

"Johann then, what is it you want?" she asked tersely.  
>"For you to see."<br>Tessa's brow furrowed in confusion, what was he talking about? She frowned at him, "I can already see."  
>Johann rolled his eyes but spoke still kindly to her, "The best way for you to see, is when you can't be seen," he recited.<br>Tessa frowned, still not quite understanding his intentions.  
>"Don't trust him Tessa," Patrick said, stepping forward, a look of determination on his somewhat chubby face.<br>"We can't be sure about him," Rose said her voice wavering.

Tessa frowned at Johann, ignoring her friends, "What are you going to do?" she asked firmly.  
>The man sighed, then began to pull of his gloves by tugging at each finger individually, "Come closer and you'll see."<br>"No Tessa," Rose pleaded, but the young girl ignored her again. Something about this man sent trust through her like blood pumping through her veins.  
>Alarms went off inside her head, screaming at her to think what she was doing through! And normally she would have listened!<p>

"What are you going to do?" She asked after having walked close to Johann, he grabbed her wrist which sent tiny shockwaves up her arm in alarm.  
>"I'm going to make you see, have you not been listening?"<br>Suddenly Tessa was wondering if this man was all there. Perhaps he was insane, and she was just being stupid and easily swayed-  
><em>That's a good thing for a hero to be- <em>_Not a hero!_

"Ready?"

Ready for what?  
>Tessa nodded, giving her two friends reassuring looks.<br>If worst came to worst she had super strength! She could fly, and if she was like her mother she could freeze him!  
>She'd be fine.<p>

And then- she realized-she wasn't!

"TESSA NO!" Rose screamed, reaching out her arm towards the young McCallistar.  
>The young girl felt suddenly incredibly energized, and it seemed that everything around her had taken a blue tint.<br>"No, what's that monster done?" Patrick said, looking with disbelief.  
>Tessa couldn't understand it, she was standing right in front of them yet they seemed to look right through her!<p>

"They can't see you, and they can't hear you."  
>She spun around to face Johann, who was a normal color. "What do you mean? Am I invisible?" she yelped. Johann nodded, "Indeed you are, you'll find that I received my father's powers and a bit more," he smiled, blaring his uneven yet perfectly white teeth.<br>Tessa turned to her friends, a terribly guilty feeling rising inside of her, "Do they know that I'm ok?"  
>"No of course not," he still smiled, "But they will soon, if you'll please follow me," he turned and began walking away, Tessa noticed that even though he looked like he was walking at a normal pace he was going much faster.<p>

She took a step forwards, it made her feel great! Some of her now excess energy was used. She smiled, "Wow," she breathed.  
>"Are you coming?" Johann turned around to face her with a raised eyebrow. Tessa looked back at her friends which were completely despairing, "Will I become visible once we're done?" she asked.<br>"Of course, now come on," he replied simply.

Tessa had no choice but to follow.

"TESSA! CAN YOU HEAR ME!?"  
>"Rose! She's gone…"<p>

**I made InvisiBill's son a bit…Odd, and vague.  
>Sorry about the lateness of this chapter, I had to rewrite the first part like seventeen times before I came up with something I was satisfied.<br>Yes, I read the name Johann Sebastian Bach and named my character after him X)  
>His mother –I decided- Was a musician.<strong>

**I apologize now for having killed InvisiBill.**

**Please review!**


	6. Chapter 5- Coward

Chapter 5- Coward

Tessa felt as though her stomach had leapt up into her throat as she walked far enough so that her friends were no longer in her sights.  
>Seeking comfort the young girl grabbed at Johann's hand, feeling no warmth through the moth eaten glove.<br>Her mind raced as well as her heart, what was he going to show her? The only assurance she had was that he wasn't going to kill her, if he was he would have done it already. She was invisible and no one could hear her scream, that was when he would have done it.

Tessa tried to keep out the screams and mutterings, the shouts and prayers that seemed to echo while she was invisible.  
>People were frightened surely, but did they have to be so loud about it? Tessa felt as though she might go insane, or perhaps she would grow used to the echoes over time.<p>

*BOOM!*

Tessa screamed and grabbed Johann's upper arm, her feet hovering just above the ground. The gigantic foot of Steven's monster robot had landed not half a mile away from her, how had she not noticed its presence before then?  
>"Hurry up," Johann said, not responding to her fright in the least. The young girl let go of his arm and landed, "I am hurrying," she said shakily.<br>Johann wrinkled his nose briefly at that statement, and as though he was trying to prove his point he walked faster.  
>Tessa took up a jog to keep up with him, a small part of her telling her to run for the hills. Perhaps try to tell her friends that she was ok, and then get that Doctor Two Brains guy to make her visible again!<p>

"Climb."  
>The young girl hadn't even realized that they had reached the robot, and that there was a giant metal ladder right in front of her.<br>"You want me to go inside-?" she didn't finish her sentence, the thought too terrible to complete. Yet, Johann nodded, "Yes, I will be following you of course," he added.  
>Tessa swallowed several times before she had mustered up the courage to grab hold of the ladder, she didn't though, put her foot up instead she flew upwards slowly as though she was climbing. Her hands clung to the sides of the ladder, the metal sliding past her palms creating more coldness.<br>Why was everything so cold? So lifeless? It made her feel alone, frightened, empty.

She could hear Johann behind her climbing, his shoes creating a very loud clanging noise with each step. Finally they reached the top, where there stood a door and a keypad, Johann –somehow knowing the combination- pressed a few keys before the door screeched open.  
>Tessa looked at him with a frightened expression, "Why-why are we going in there? I need to know!" she said loudly, knowing full well that no one but him could hear her.<br>Johann gestured towards the door, leaning against the frame to keep him from falling off the giant metal monster.

Tessa frowned, was he going to give her no answers?  
>As if he could read her thoughts the man spoke, "I don't have the answers you want, what's inside there does," he shrugged.<br>The young girl let out a defeated sigh, deciding that this was the only way of becoming visible again and walked (not hovered) through the door.

The room was surrounded by dark maroon velvet which stopped only around the keypads and dials that made up the controls to the giant machine.  
>On a solitary wall there was a small well sketched out drawing of the outside of the robot, and right beside it crudely taped to the velvet was a small crayon picture that Tessa remembered having done with him when she was about five years old. It featured the whole family in a wide array of inaccurate colors.<p>

The first human Tessa saw was her mother.  
>Becky McCallistar was on the floor, handcuffed to a random metal bar. She was looking incredibly tired with dark circles under her eyes and long hair in disarray, yet she looked somehow determined.<br>Tessa fought the urge to run to her mother's aid, her gaze not leaving the woman that had raised her.

"You don't understand!"

Tessa's attention was suddenly turned towards Steven, her brother, realizing that she had come in during the middle of a conversation.  
>He was looking even worse off than their mother.<br>"Steven, I think I understand perfectly," WordGirl replied tersely, "I'm just not sure that you do."

Steven looked at her with disbelief, "Seriously? Is this one of those moments where I get talked down to, and then I just give up and run into my mummy's arms?" he asked scathingly, "How pathetic!"  
>Tessa had a sudden urge to punch him, yet restrained that too as that wouldn't do any good at that moment.<br>She looked over at Johann, hoping for some sort of explanation as to what this was supposed to be telling her!  
>But he was busy peaking down at the dials, adjusting his overlarge glasses on his small nose so that he could see them better.<p>

"I'm sure that that's what you think of me," ranted Steven, "The small child that is just confused! But I'm brilliant, I'm a genius!"  
>Their mother nodded, "Yes."<br>Steven blinked at her a few times, surprised by her answer. Tessa was slightly surprised by her reaction too, she knew that her mother was understanding and kind but-but Steven had taken her powers! He was ranting about his brilliance as he terrorized the entire city!

Tessa felt despairing and angry, two emotions that should not go together.  
>Everything in her world had crashed down around her and she was invisible and voiceless to the rest of the world with only a vague reason for why she was where she was from a crazy man.<br>Tears formed in her eyes, a headache pounding at her mind, Tessa found she could only listen to the echoing words of her brother and her mother as they conversed.

"You are incredibly brilliant Steven, just like your father and your namesake."  
>"My namesake was a criminal."<br>"So you take after him," their mother's tone had gone bitter for a moment, before she relaxed it into warmth, "He was very kind, and confused and lost in his world changed by one mistake-"  
>Steven staggered, "I'M NOT LOST OR CONFUSED!" he shouted, but Becky ignored him.<p>

"He was frightened too; he cowered before the voice in his head."

Steven-the eleven year old boy- suddenly burst into tears, "SHUT UP!" he shouted, crumpling to the ground, and pressing his back into the velvet wall.  
>And suddenly it struck Tessa what Johann had been trying to show her.<p>

Though Everyone was in danger from the giant robot, but the person that Tessa had grown up with was the one who needed the most saving.  
>Steven needed to be saved from himself before he was to turn completely evil.<br>Tessa needed to save her brother because she was the only one that could do it, she had to be a hero.  
>A shiver ran down her spine at the word <em>hero<em>, it seemed to mean more then she had originally thought.

Johann looked curiously over at the young girl, before his expression turned from interest to some affirmation.  
>Tessa looked over at him and nodded to show that she understood, when suddenly the man disappeared.<br>Or so she thought, rather it seemed that a certain someone had just became visible in front of her mother and brother.

"Tessa?!" Steven shouted, jumping to his feet, his eyes somewhat red from crying although the tears had stopped at the surprise.  
>"Tessa," Becky said relieved, a small smile on her face.<p>

"Hi mom…"

**The end of this chapter isn't quite satisfying to me but it'll have to do.  
>Sorry for the wait!<strong>

**Please review!**


	7. Chapter 6- A Family

Chapter 6- A family

Steven gawked at Tessa, his mouth opening and closing several times rather like that of a fish. Tessa looked at him, fear running through her in waves.

Why had Johann done this?! Did he think that she would be able to stop Steven with ease if she just knew why she was doing it?

Tessa swallowed, waiting for the verdict from her brother, a small part of her wondering if Steven could have been talked down by her mother if Johann had just let them be.

Steven seemed to recover, and in an instant a scowl was on his face, "Hello Tessa," he snarled, stepping backwards until he was next to his control panel, where his pale hand grabbed hold of a single well labeled lever, it read- Indoor shock cables!

Tessa screamed as the lever was pulled down and several long thin cords sprouted from little doors that were cleverly hidden beneath the maroon velvet.

Tessa flew up, dodging each cord with difficulty. She pressed herself against the ceiling of the machine, her breaths coming in with difficulty as she panicked. One of the cords sprang towards her faster than she could fly, and wrapped around her leg pulling her down to the floor.

What felt like thousands of the shock cables began swarming her, wrapping around her arms, legs, and torso creating a squirming cocoon that Tessa thought lots of snakes wrapping around you would feel like.

"Tessa!" screamed their mother and she struggled against her binds, when a stray cable pushed the tip of itself into her arm and she was knocked out.

Steven was laughing, it was muffled to the young girl as the cords wrapped around her face. Tessa was certain that this was the end.

The cords lifted her up so that she could see Steven's smiling face, she screamed several times but it was quiet even to her.

I'm going to die. Suits the fact that my friends think I'm dead right now!

Tessa closed her eyes, trying to focus, trying to be brave, her father and mother had both used the quote "Bravery is being afraid of something but doing it anyways" she was going to take this bravely even though she was as afraid as she could be.

"I'm sorry Tessa," Steven said, a touch of sadness in his voice, "Really sorry, but I need to make things fair."

And with that, Steven pulled down even farther on the lever and the cords all turned their heads to Tessa's body and electricity ran through her.

…To describe what Tessa was feeling exactly would be impossible, I'm sure you understand, despite that though, I shall try to explain to some extent-

It felt like spiders running just beneath her skin, snakes squeezing her, it was hot and cold, it –if she was able to think at that moment- reminded her of falling from a great height before she realized that she could fly.

With little control of her own mind at that moment, Tessa's thoughts strayed back to her family-

She and her family were having a picnic…

Steven was playing with Patrick, trying to make him turn into a giant green monster.

Tessa was playing with Rose, drinking grape juice and talking about their favorite books.

Her mother and father were leaning against each other looking into the sky when Becky sat straight as a rake, whispered something to Tobey, then got up creating excuses to leave.

Only now did Tessa realize that it was because she was WordGirl.

All of Tessa's muscles suddenly relaxed, the cords dropped to the ground dead. The young girl collapsed with them, kneeling.

She could vaguely hear Steven muttering words of confusion, but wasn't sure why.

A small part of her was wondering, why wasn't she unconscious? One of those cords had put her mother to sleep, why was she not?

"The door was open, hope you don't mind me dropping in."

The aristocratic and overly smug voice of Tobey made Tessa take in a sharp breath of surprise. What was he doing here?! The young girl was barely able to lift her head to see her father.

"You really must protect your wires with something more than a few layers of sheet metal, one blow torch and I was into your system," he commented, his gaze traveling over the scene lazily, though Tessa imagined that he was only pretending to be calm.

Steven was yet to say anything, perhaps because he was struck speechless or perhaps because Tobey was giving him little chance to.

"This Robot lacks finesse," Tobey continued, his gaze landing on his unconscious wife. Tessa saw a flash of red appear on his cheeks, yet he remained quiet and composed, "And may I ask, what can you possibly hope to achieve here?"

Finally Steven was given the chance to speak, his face had gotten redder then his fathers as Tobey continued to talk. Then when he had finished, he went pale, "Equality!" he shouted.

Tessa's brow furrowed, she interrupted Tobey who was about to make some derisive remark, "If you wanted equality, why did you do this?" she asked, "You are trying to set yourself above me Steven! That's not equality!'

Steven blinked a few times as the words sank in, yet he didn't relent, "I'm making you equal with everyone else!" he spluttered.

Tessa shook her head, "It's still not total equality, and what about the villains who have powers different from mine? Are you going to shock them too?"

It seemed that Steven hadn't even considered it, and he shuffled his feet as he thought. Finally he spoke with a defiant air, "Of course I will, I want-"

"Equality, I know," Tessa frowned, she could feel her strength come back as she thought about it. If she could convince Steven that what he was doing was wrong then perhaps they could get him back! For even though he had done all this awful stuff, not one of them could deny him his home.

"What about Patrick?"

"What about him?" Steven questioned, wondering why the topic had switched so suddenly.

"What if he is like his mother? Could you really do _that_ to him?" she pointed to her mother who looked rather sad lying still on the floor, her breathing shallow.

Steven frowned, "I-I might!" he said defiantly.

Tessa scowled, "Ah yes, that's what true friendship is!" she snarled.

Tessa felt strange, during the past when Steven had been acting odd she had just taken it. She would listen, get upset and then leave the room all tearful and confused. She wasn't going to take it now! Because Steven McCallistar was going to hurt her friends!

She knew the Veggie Kid his name was Micheal.

Lady Redundant Woman was still at large and would face death if she came across the shock cables!

And most importantly, she knew that Patrick was going to realize what his powers were and soon. And then he would be in trouble.

And so, with those thoughts running through her head. Tessa lifted herself into a standing position, every muscle aching yet still working.

Steven was looking shocked, as was Tobey.

"How are you still awake?" Steven mumbled, "How can you stand so soon?" he was sounding slightly more panicked then before.

Tessa looked determined at her brother, "I think I get it now, that's how," she said plainly, "Steven, the problem is not that I'm not equal to you. Do you see what you have done? You've created a monster sized robot and that's amazing!"

Steven gave a small triumphant smile, though it was gone in a flash as Tessa continued to speak.

"I have the ability to fly, I can hear things that are going on miles away, but that means nothing unless I choose what I am going to do with what I am given. Not everyone is equal Steven, we're all special...As cheesy as that sounds."

Tobey nodded, "You're a genius! (not as good as a genius as I was at that age but still) I learned very late that I wasn't meant to be a villain (as fun as it was destroying buildings) now look at me, I'm married with two wonderful (if not supernatural) children!" he smiled crookedly, "I'm happy where I am, where as I'm sure you're not that happiest where you are right now."

Steven swallowed, "Even if that's true Tessa," he avoided his father and instead spoke to Tessa, "The shock cables should have taken your powers away!"

Tessa felt cold run through her, suddenly she felt empty inside. She wanted to cry, but something on the wall caught her attention.

It was a felt tipped Marker, floating in the air it wrote down one simple word onto large glass window-

**_No_**

Tessa knew immediately what it meant, and closed her eyes.

And slowly, she rose off the ground.

"That's amazing!" exclaimed her father, "Absolutely extraordinary (gets that from my side of the family) Tessa!"

Tessa opened her eyes to see her father and brother gawking at her, "Well isn't this a strange turn of events," she said, smiling.

She landed, then looked at Steven pleadingly, "So, now, are you going to keep destroying the whole town, or are you coming home?"

Steven blinked in surprise, "I think you know my answer-"

Tessa nodded, "Yes, I think I do."

**The End!**

**Except, it isn't the end exactly.**

**It would be really disappointing and confusing if I did that.**

**I'll have the Epilogue up really fast so you don't have to wonder! Besides, we need some Steven Boxlietner love.**

**Also-**

**Soooo sorry about the wait! I didn't mean to take a three week break but I did, and I'm a poopy head.**

**Please review!**


	8. Epilogue

Epilogue:

Becky leaned back onto the arm of her couch, her feet propped on top of a large pillow. Ever since they had gotten Steven back and everything was normal (or as normal as it could ever be now) Tobey had been treating her like a queen! Doting on her and tiptoeing around her.

She imagined that he was unsure of how to act around her now, yet loved her too much to just leave her and so over compensated.

She smiled, she loved him too, and she imagined that soon he would learn that nothing had really changed.

Her muscles were still somewhat tense from the shock cables that had attacked her more then once, yet she felt them relax as she lay back.

She let out a soft sigh, _Things have changed, Tobey may not need to treat you differently but things have changed! _Becky thought.

Her daughter was now a hero, Steven was learning how to make _smaller _robots when he wasn't facing his punishment for having done what he did, and Becky had lost her super powers, she was no longer WordGirl.

She was practically human.

Despair gripped her heart and Becky sat up, that was when she saw a figure standing at the foot of the couch.

A tall, thin, white haired figure.

She blinked a few times as she tried to process what she was seeing... "Doc?" she squeaked. The first thing she noticed about him was that he wasn't wearing his lab coat, and that the small brain that was usually attached to his head was no longer there!

The Doc was looking (if possible) thinner then when she had last seen him -which had been years ago- his eyes were not all red, they were now slightly pink tinged with brown irises. He looked tired, but he was smiling-if not a bit nervously.

His hair had been cut shorter, and was now combed back.

"Hi Word- I mean, Becky," he smiled shyly.

Becky continued to blink rapidly in confusion.

The Doc swallowed, his gaze now traveling to the floor, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you that-that I was coming but Tessa thought it might make a nice surprise if I..." his voice trailed off.

Becky stopped blinking and was now staring, too shocked to say anything just yet, but she found herself standing up.

"I-I-I know that I've been a little-well- *evil* these past few years," he stammered, "B-b-b-but I removed the brain and-and I thought that...I'm going by Steven again, and I know that I'm not ever going to be completely Steven ever again- because I can't think straight about anything but making rays to turn things into cheese and my senses are all messed up and every so often my morals are questionable- and I'm sure after all that I've done you'd never want to talk to be again but-"

He wasn't given the chance to finish his sentence before Becky grabbed his gloved hand and pulled him towards her until the were wrapped in a warm embrace. Her arms wrapped around his thin arms, her face pressed into his light blue shirt she hugged him tighter and tighter.

It was now Steven's turn to blink in confusion, all he could do was hug her back and attempt to blink back tears.

Becky allowed several moments to pass before she pulled back, "Of course I want to speak to you again!" she said, "I'm so glad that you're back!"

A small part of her was distrusting of him, but she put out that spark as soon as it had surfaced. She was going to give him the benefit of the doubt at least, the way he spoke, his voice filled with unwanted emotions and his words so sincere. She couldn't doubt him.

"I really missed you Doc," she said.

"I missed me too," he replied.

He ran a hand awkwardly through his hair, "So um, Tessa asked me if I would train her on how to be a superhero! She's taken after you that one," he smiled shyly, "I've started her on my book, but I didn't want to um- I didn't want to train her without asking you first!"

Becky nodded in understanding, "It's alright, she's way more powerful then I ever was she'll make a great superhero."

The Doc smiled, "That's because she's your daughter, imagine what her kid will be like!"

"Stop! I don't want to think about it!" Becky laughed, and Dr. Boxleitner joined her (though his laugh was higher and reedier due to his time as DTB)

Finally they stopped, and Becky smiled at her old mentor and her best friend of whom she had not really seen in forever.

"Shall we adjourn to the kitchen? I can get you something to eat," she said.

"That'd be great!" Steven said, feeling way happier then he had been feeling before. But then his smile vacated-

"No cheese though, I've had nothing but cheese and crackers for the past ten years!"

**The End! (For real)**

**I know, there are things that are missing. I realized that just as I had finished the Epilogue.**

**What about Patrick and his worries about being greedy? And how do they find out that Tessa isn't dead?**

**And what happened to the big fight I was expecting between Tessa and Steven?**

**The answers to those questions are-**

**No idea.**

**I had a ton of trouble with the chapter before this one, unsure of where I was taking it. Despite its faults, I hope you enjoyed this story! And be assured that Tessa will come back at some point in another story.**

**Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!**

**Please review again.**


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